Watson on Top Chef?; How to Become a LEGO Designer & More

Can computers be creative? Lav Varshney and his group of researchers at IBM's TJ Watson Research Center say yes. They're using Watson, the artifically intelligent computer system that kicked butt on Jeopardy, to prove it. And what's Watson demonstrating creativity with? Cooking. Using a process that combines human experts with Watson's powers, the group have downloaded recipes, ingredients and included an ingredient-combing "novelty algorithm" so when a human enters some starting ingredients (eg. salmon) and a cuisine (eg. Thai), Watson will come up with some original recipes. And apparently, they're delicious.

The NES turned 30 this year (which isn't really that old, truth be told) and to celebrate, Nintendo is releasing what might be the greatest album ever: 26 of the best theme songs from classic NES games, like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Brothers. The two-disc album will be out December 4, just in time for the holiday season.

Take a trip down memory lane and watch a two-minute excerpt from a news report from 1991, which details how parents felt "exploited" and "upset" over the introduction of the $200 Super Nintendo System, a new hardware that promised better sound and pictures. Parents were so upset, they took to group therapy sessions to voice their displeasure. Also, hilarious '90s hairstyles abound.

Step one. Be one in a million. The Wall Street Journal goes behind the scene at the very stressful job interview process for what might be your dream job: A designer at Danish block company, LEGO. The world's No. 2 toy maker is always building its design staff, and finds new recruits not through a formal interview, but by asking people to just sit and sketch LEGO sets in front of senior designers.

How did the iPad come about? Even while Apple SVP of design Jony Ive was working on the device, Steve Jobs was going around saying Apple would never come out with a tablet, according to an excerpt from a new book, "Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products," on Gizmodo, which details the inside process that led to the device, and its iconic design.